For many sports applications, players wish to or may be required to wear a protective/support cup to prevent injury. In such sports, for example, hockey, it has been traditional for the player to wear a baselayer, over which a jock is worn to hold an athletic support cup, over which the player then layers other shorts and equipment.
This arrangement is cumbersome and expensive, in addition to being time-consuming to put on for each game or practice.
More recently, there have been products that combine a baselayer and jock. However, such designs have certain shortcomings as the jock portion may be either attached too rigidly to the pants, or separate elastic straps or loops may be provided that allow too much play and freedom for the pouch/cup making it easy for it to become dislodged or simply fail to provide the desired support. This may occur especially in hockey when the player does crossovers, skates backwards or brakes suddenly, or raises his leg. In a too tight arrangement, the player may be restricted from moving as he wishes to. In a too loose arrangement, the pouch and cup may flop around excessively or allow too much of a gap between the protective element and the wearer's body, leading to potentially painful misalignment and deficient protection.
It would be desirable to provide an improvement on this combined model that allows for both a range of motion and support.